The owners of UpRiver Cafe did something quite dangerous. They took a business that was so beloved by Lake Luzerne locals and visiting whitewater enthusiasts that it was almost impossible to replace it in the hearts of fans.

Papa's Ice Cream Parlor was an institution, adopting a post-war innocence that was already nostalgic when the place opened in the 1970s. I took my oldest to Papa's when he was in diapers, and it made such an impression that every time we head into the Adirondack Park, he has a strong sense memory of "that place with the ice cream sundaes and the waterfall."

The original building burned in 2002, and the Gardner family rebuilt on an adjoining lot with an even more stunning view of Rockwell Falls, a challenging spot where the Hudson River is still wild. New owners who took over five years ago never caught their stride, and the business closed in 2010.

In April 2011, local artist Betsey Brandt and her husband, the chef Andrew Van Bourgondien, bought the space, increased the river views from the interior rooms, filled them with art and added a high-end menu to the ice-cream-parlor fare. Visitors who stop for a scoop will not feel that the old-fashioned ice cream parlor has faded away, but they may be surprised to find wasabi-crusted tuna with soba noodles and exotic mushroom ravioli offered alongside burgers and sundaes.

On summer nights, if you are lucky enough to get one of the outdoor tables, the place is sheer magic. The tumbling waters of Rockwell Falls blend with the hum of crickets and frogs. Even our busy server, attending to a large crowd on a July weeknight, stopped dreamily for a second and stared over our heads as the pink of sunset started to fade: "This is my favorite moment," she murmured, "when the fireflies start lighting up."

I was grateful to be able to enjoy the view with a crisp, dry white Bordeaux blend from Chateau Bonnet for $23 a bottle. The modest wine list includes but is not limited to local favorites, such as white zinfandel and moscato, and bottle prices top out at $30. A dozen bottled beers range from Pabst Blue Ribbon for $2.75 to Adirondack Bear Naked for $4.25.

Prices exceed burger-stand levels, but the quality is commensurate. A thick, half-pound Angus burger with fries or a salad, topped with apple-smoked bacon and Adirondack cheddar, clocks in at $10.95. A generous platter of mahi-mahi soft tacos includes fresh avocado, shredded cabbage, tomato, salsa and cheese, with fries or a salad, for the same price. An enormous lobster roll with fries or salad seemed to be a favorite order among the deck visitors the night we visited, in spite of a $14.95 price tag. Kids' meals such as smaller burgers with American cheese, Kraft mac and cheese, hot dogs and PBJ were listed at $7, although our kids' meal rang up at $6, with no extra charge for a soda.

Van Bourgondien, who has worked in the kitchens of The Sagamore and Inn at Erlowest locally, as well as in Hawaii, is not limiting himself to beach fare. The full menu dinner menu includes finer dining options in the $17 to $22 price range. Because of the casual, ice-cream parlor/burger shack vibe, and the fact that you're likely to share the space with patrons in flip-flops and swim cover-ups, I'm treating UpRiver Cafe as a non-starred Order Up review.

The chef must have a particularly good relationship with his fish purveyor, for we started with a serving of the tiniest, most perfect littleneck clams I've ever seen, steamed in white wine with garlic ($10.95). Some people may think the bigger, the better with clams, but these young ones had exceptionally tender, sweet meats. We also had an order of calamari with tomato marinara sauce ($10.25), which was pretty standard but delicately fried to avoid rubberiness.

A Cobb salad ($10.95) was a huge affair, carefully constructed like a crudite platter, with sections devoted to avocado, chopped tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, red onions, raw mushrooms, slab bacon and grilled white meat chicken chunks with ranch dressing in a side cup. I prefer my salads mixed and dressed in the kitchen, but since the platter was large enough to share around the table, the presentation allowed for the pickier eaters in our group to choose their ingredients.

Two of our group were drawn to seafood entrees ($23-$24), so I chose St. Louis ribs ($19.95) for variety. It was a large, wet-cooked slab smothered in a thick sweet sauce, soft enough to debone with a fork, served with decent coleslaw and a choice of fries or baked potato. The seafood was more impressive and nicely handled. Three large, tender scallops were served over a nutty quinoa with a cranberry-orange beurre blanc, nicely balancing creamy, sweet and tart. Smooth saffron risotto with shrimp and small scallops sauteed in olive oil with herbs and garlic was fresh and satisfying.

The 12-ounce New York strip was a bargain at $21.50, cleanly trimmed, perfectly rare and lightly dressed with an herbal compound butter and shredded, fried sweet onions. Other entrees included meatloaf with mushroom gravy ($16.95), chicken Boursin ($17.95) and lobster cavatappi with Adirondack cheddar sauce ($19.50).

Dessert is impossible to resist after absorbing the sweet, wafting smell of waffle cones. A huge apple pie slice ($6.49) was of the sweet, thickened, old-fashioned variety with a heavy lattice crust and pile of vanilla ice cream. A dish of chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream ($2.99) was large and rich enough to conquer a previously indomitable ice cream eater halfway through.

Food for five — with two appetizers, a large shared salad, four entrees, a kids' meal, five desserts, four coffees and a soda — was $153.45 before alcohol, tax and tip.